Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences and key stakeholdersincluded refugee and immigrant farmers, primarilly representing the Somali Bantu, Congolese, Burundi, and Bhutanese communities; teen-aged youth interns, primarilly representing youth from refugee, immigrant, first-generation, and/orsocio-economically disadvantaged households; urban gardeners; low-income consumers paying with SNAPbenefits and taking advantage of the Granite State Market Match Program; and low-income seniors receiving Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program bundles. Changes/Problems:Due to challenges with land access, staffing and capacity, the Worcester, MA component of the project was not launched. However, we instead invested efforts into Concord, NH, in addition to our primary activities taking place in Manchester, NH. Ten refugee urban gardeners in Concord, NH attended workshops on vegetable crop production and direct marketing through CSA, farmers markets, SNAP/EBT and the Granite State Market Match (GSMM), and Senior Nutrition programs. They also received technical assistancefor a 3-week pilot SNAP/EBT and GSMM farm stand in 2015 at Morning Star Housing, a housing community where many new American and low-income community members reside in Concord.These 10 farmers have self-organized cooperatively and named themselvesUmoja Farmers; Umoja means "United" in their common language of Swahili. Umoja Farmers have identified an aspirationand commitment toprogressfrom community gardening for home consumption (with a small number of surplus sales to friends, family members, and neighbors) to commercial farming. In2017, although a Concord farm stand did not take place due to a lack of surplus produce after substince consumption, Umoja Farmers determined the organizational structures of how they would market their produce cooperatively at SNAP/GSMMaccessible neighborhood farm stands in target communities in Concord. ORIS has also secured additional land access opportunities in Concord beginning in the 2018 growing season. Resultantly, members of Umoja Farmers, as well as other aspiring new American farmers in the Concord area, are well positioned to progress towards achievingtheir farm business dreams. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Refugee farmers accessed training opportunities andlearned about CSA, farmers markets,SNAP/ EBT and the Granite State Market Match, Senior nutrition programs,hoop house production, crop storage, season extension techniques, and other priority topic areas. With this training, farmerswere able to grow their professional and leadership capacity, integrateselling to low-income community members into their business plans, and ultimately increase the success of their farm businesses as well asfood security among low-income families in New Hampshire. Teen-aged youth interns participating in the Farm & Food Leaders program received applied, hands-ontrainingabout farmproduction and marketing, including participating in community outreach efforts, creating marketing materials, identifying best marketing practices, identifying areas for improvement at the SNAP accessible markets and farm stands, integrated pest management techniques, sustainable agriculture and food systems, and other areas.The Farm & Food Leaders also gained important job-readiness experience, training and accessed leadership and professional development opportunites, and engaged with important dialogues around issues related to food justice and equity in their communities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?For the entirity of the project, we have sent out newsletters highlighting project activities weekly or bi-weekly (during the growing season) and monthly (during the off-season) to our CSA members and other supporters and followers. We have also published results on our Fresh Start Farms-NH and ORIS (Organization for Refugee & Immigrant Success) facebook pages sharing activities, events, and results associated with the project. We created a google presentation with results of our CSA Members' Experiences Survey, which is open to the public and viewable at the following link:https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mR4-urXJrAq3GR_DMEJD1MAV-FuXZgusimKK13REkfU/edit#slide=id.p This presentation was also used to train refugee farmers about and improve CSA, and it informed the kinds of technical assistance project staff emphasized providing to refugee farmers in subsequent years. Project staff and participating new American farmers have delivered presentations and shared information about the project at several community events, including Manchester neighborhood block parties, schools, ESL classes, and agricultural conferences, among others. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
New American farmers are not only integrating into their new communities, but they are becoming integral totheir communities by providingaccessible,healthy,culturally-appropriate foods and strengthening their communities' food security.The success of the refugee farmers in the Manchester areahas also been an inspiration to refugeecommunity gardeners in Concord, NH; these community gardeners have expressed a strong desire to now persue community agricultural entrepreneruship. Accomplishments completed under each objective are furtherdetailed below. Objective 1Provide training and technical assistance to refugee farmers 32 refugee farmers attended trainings and increased their knowledge about CSA, farmers markets, SNAP and Granite State Market Match (GSMM) incentive programs, and the SFMNP. The 9 farmers that incorporated CSA into their market plans increasingly took on CSA management responsibilities. By the end of the project, theyindependently planned for, harvested, completed post-harvest handling,delivered CSA shares, and conducted effective customer service and retention strategies.10 farmers identified farmers markets and the SFMNP as components of their business plans and received TA with farmers market and SFMNP applications. As a result, these farmers know when applications are available, where/how to obtain them, and what information is required. 12 farmers received TAat SNAP and GSMMfarm stands, farmers markets, and/or CSA. Farmers understand what items are eligible for various benefits, what tokens are used for which purposes, and how to redeem their tokens for payment; farmers have the capacity and are independently explaining to their customers, including new American consumers with limited English, how to take advantage of their federal benefits to purchase fresh, local, culturally-appropriate food. The farm site in Dunbarton has apost-harvest facility. This infrastructure allowedfarmers to improve their efficiency and product quality, and thus customer satisfaction and retention, leading to an increase in overall business success and viability. Farmers received training and TAon season-extension techniques and hoop house production. In year 1 the farmers extended their season through the end of November and provided CSA shares to low-income families receiving fruit and veggie prescriptions. In year 3, the farmers providedCSA-style weekly deliveries to a local school district, which they are amply preparedto extend until December. Objective 2Build mutually beneficial relationships between refugee farmers and low-income customers Refugee farmers received significant marketing support with establishing new and improving existing CSA pick-up sites, conducting innovative and effective promotion and outreach strategies, and increasing their sales. In 2017, we achieved our target of 100 CSA members. Of these 101 members, 17 were limited-resource Syrian families who obtained CSA shares through our new "Share a Share" program, and 2 of these 101 members purchased "standard" half-cost incentivized CSA shares with their SNAP benefits, while many others placed orders directly with farmers and paid with SNAP.According to feedback from consumeres, a traditional CSA model for households with lowincome, including new American families, was often not the most appropriate or preferable. Instead, many SNAP customers chose this option ofplacing direct orders with farmers. The favorability of this"buying club"-inspiredmodel is an initiative we aim toexplore further for refugee farmers and their low-income consumers. Over the project, low-income familiesaccessed 8SNAP accessible farm stands and 2 farmers markets. In2015 we operated 4 neighborhood farm stands in Manchester (Manchester Community Health Center, Kalivas Park, Lafayatte Park, JFK),1 "pilot" farm stand in Concord for 3 weeks, and 2 farmers markets in Manchester and Salem NH.In 2016 we improved the times of the 4 Manchester farm stands in order to better serve the community and be more accessible totheir needs,added a season-long pilot farm stand in Goffstown, and continued operating SNAP at the above farmers markets.After 2016, we identified that the Manchester Community Health Center and JFK farm stands were not in high enough demand by the community and were not competitively profitablefor farmers in terms of SNAP.In 2017 we continued our Kalivas and Lafyatte park sites andlaunched 2 newfarm stands in Elmwood Gardens, a Manchester Housing & Redevelopment Authority site, and Maintaining Independence, an adult daycenter serving the Bhutanese and Latino/a senior communities. The Salem NH Farmers Market is now operating its own SNAP program independently, and ORIS continues to operate SNAP and the GSMM at the popular Manchester Community Market. 1,847 customers redeemed $66,237 worth ofSNAP and GSMM incentive benefits at 2 ORIS-operated farmers markets and 8different farm stands, making the Manchester region one of the most SNAP and GSMM redeemedregions in the state. Significantly, in the final yearrefugee farmers' SNAP and GSMM sales comprised 78% of the total SNAP and GSMM sales of all participating vendors in the Manchester region. It is worth noting that a major portion of the refugee farmers' SNAP customer base are also members of new American communities. Farmers delivered 1,021 bundles for the SFMNP, attributing $18,378 to their sales. Infinancial evaluations with farmersthey identified the SFMNP as a key market channel due to itsreliability, efficiency, and alignment with the social mission to provide fresh food to low-income seniors. Additional new American growers have seen the farmers' success with this market channel and have identified aspirations to also expand their business plans to include the SFMNP in future years. Objective 3Coordinate internship programs that provide opportunities for teen-aged youth to grow, harvest, distribute, and take home healthy, culturally appropriate food 8-12 youth yearly (30 total) participated in the Farm & Food Leaders internship program. The majority of the teens were racial minorities and had families with strong identities and histories as farmers. The youthreceived training on farm production and direct marketing, important job-readiness experience, and professional and leadership development. Theyassisted with conducting community outreach aboutSNAP accessible markets and CSA and assistedfarmerswith CSA and SFMNP duties and at the markets with facilitating customer interactions and other tasks. The youth had opportunities to apply and develop their bilingual skills and cross-cultural competencies, making them key assets to the project. They also engaged in important dialoguesaround issues of food justice, racial equity, and socio-economic inequities. From the food they grew in the demo plotthey harvested and donated the surplus to the NH Food Bank and also took home healthy, culturally-appropriate food. Objective 4Utilize partners at the local, state, and national level to expand urban farms, community gardens, SNAP/DVCP programs, and direct marketing opportunities ORIS served as the Regional Lead for the NH Nutrition Incentive Network and participated in launching a statewide branding and marketing campaign for the Granite State Market Match program. In years 2015 and 2016, 5 families were referred to and accessed community garden plots at Gale Prince's property in Bedford, NH.In 2017, ORIS assisted Neighborworks Southern NH with conducting outreach and connected 6 new Americans to plots in a new,accessible community garden in Manchester's inner-city. ORIS also expanded its programming into Concord, NH's capitol and a refugee resettlement city, and connected 10 new American families to growingopportunities. These Concord-resident growers have expressed an interest in and commitment to expanding from home and neighborhood consumption to pursuing market opportunities and developing their farm enterprises.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The audience reached by our efforts were members of the refugee and immigrant populations within the greater Manchester area in New Hampshire. Trainings and technical assistance were provided to farmers with varying levels of agriculturalknowledge, including entry level farmers who underwent initial workshops within our incubator farm program, as well as advanced farmers who spent this reporting year transitioning to become their own business cooperative, to whom we provided continued technical assistance in topics relevant to their needs and the development of their business. Changes/Problems:Worcester has not been able to participate in the intended capacity during this recording year. Due to limited resources and funding beyond this grant, Worcester was not able to maintain the proposed involvement withORIS. Efforts are being made to increasea their participation in the future. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Objective 1) Provide training and technical assistance to refugee farmers NASAP program coordinator collaborated with the Cooperative Development Institute to develop and implement trainings on cooperative development and governance. Nine farmers showed interested and after participating in trainings, developed their own business cooperative. These 9 farmerscontinue to work with ORIS staff and the Cooperative Development Institute to learn best practices in coordinating their own land management decisions, CSA program managment,production practices and accounting processes. ORIS staff collaborated with UNH Cooperative Extension to provide trainings in record keeping to 9 cooperative farmers. NASAP program coordinator and Farm Manager provided technical assistance to farmers to apply and secure funding through the Independent Development Account program from the Community Loan Fund. Ten farmers applied for the assistance and 7 farmers were accepted. The Farm Manager collaborated with the Farm Service Agency to provide technical assistance to 9 farmers for crop insurance. The Farm Manager and NASAP Program Coordinator provided continuedtechnical assistance and support in vegetable crop production throughout the year to 21 farmers. NASAP Program Coordinator scheduled and collaborated todeliver8 trainings to beginning farmers: Introduction to Direct Marketing; CSA Marketing and Strategies; Farmers Market Training; Wholesale; Scale Tutorial and Licensing; Crop Production Calendar; Cultural and IntegratedPest Management; Introduction to Cooperative Development. Seven participants attened trainings. Objective 2)Build mutually beneficial relationships between refugee farmers and low-income customers NASAP Program Coordinator providedSNAP/EBT token trainingto all vendors at the participating farmers markets and farm stands. NASAP Program Coordinator promoted SNAP/EBT tokens, GSMM incentive and SNAP/EBT CSA shares within all marketing supplies for the farming program. Additional signs and fliers were hung to advertise Fresh Start Farms and the New American Farmers Cooperative's involvement with these programs. Objective 3)Coordinate internship programs that provide opportunities for teen-aged youth to grow, harvest, distribute, and take home healthy, culturally appropriate food Internship participations have already completed aworkshop on mushrooms, training in production garden maintenance and problem solving within the field. Various other trainings and service-learning opportunities are planned for the remainder of the program. Objective 4)Utilize partners at the local, state, and national level to expand urban farms, community gardens, SNAP/DVCP programs, and direct marketing opportunities Partnerships are being formed to secure land tenure for future years. This will create opportunities for an incubator farm, community gardens, greater sale options and better access for SNAP/EBT, low-income gardeners and consumers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1) Provide training and technical assistance to refugee farmers Continue to develop even more beneficial trainings and providing farmers with appropraite assistance with their land and crop produciton. Objective 2)Build mutually beneficial relationships between refugee farmers and low-income customers Have NASAP representativeattend mroe community networking and tabling events to communicate the program's mission and help to provide accessible, affordable food to low-income families. 2a) Provide marketing support to refugee farmers Continue to help with marketing while also teaching individual farmers how to successful market their own businesses. For the graduated farmers, helping them to develop business plans and budget costs based on the need for employment costs of a marketing position. 2b) Expand SNAP programs at farmers markets/ farm stands Continue to print out fliers, brochures and signs and continue collecting data needed to better the program's outreach. 2c) Support SNAP accessible CSA pick-up sites Advertise better tand educate people to connect with SNAP/EBT customers who would be interested in CSA boxes. Objective 3)Coordinate internship programs that provide opportunities for teen-aged youth to grow, harvest, distribute, and take home healthy, culturally appropriate food Continue to refine and develop the farm and food leaders program. The hope is to have a greater number of Crew Leaders for the next season in order to create mentorships and alternative educational opportunities. Objective 4)Utilize partners at the local, state, and national level to expand urban farms, community gardens, SNAP/DVCP programs, and direct marketing opportunities Work closely with NRCS, CMC, local farmers and land owners to ensure land for our future incubator program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1) Provide training and technicalassistance to refugee farmers Outcome: 9 farmersformed their own business cooperative:New American Farmers Cooperative. Outcome: The 9 graduates from the incubator program took on responsibility for land managemnet decision making including renting landto and mentoring fellow farmers. Outcome: Completed the construction of a new wash station on the farm to ensure proper sanitation. Outcome: 7 farmers were accepted for Independent Development Accounts to help fund their agricultural businesses. Objective 2)Build mutually beneficial relationships between refugee farmers and low-income customers Outcome: Farmers provide affordable vegetables through the Granite State Market Match program at farm stands and farmers markets throughout the state. Outcome: Farmers provided CSA boxes to SNAP/EBT customers and seniors. 2a) Provide marketing support to refugee farmers Outcome: More SNAP/EBT customers were reached through increased efforts to promote the farmers market token system and the Granite State Market Match incentive program. 2b) Expand SNAP programs at farmers markets/ farm stands Outcome: Outcome: 6 farm stands and markets acceptSNAP/EBT and Granite State Market Match tokens. 2c) Support SNAP accessible CSA pick-up sites Outcome:9 farmers are involved with 13 farm stands and CSA distribution sites which offer SNAP/EBT CSA shares.? Objective 3)Coordinate internship programs that provide opportunities for teen-aged youth to grow, harvest, distribute, and take home healthy, culturally appropriate food Outcome: 12 student interns and 1 Crew Leader are currently participating in the Food and Farm Leader program. Outcome: The students have had their first harvest day and delivery to the local food bank. Outcome: The students have assisted the Market Coordinator and the farmers at the local community farmers market. Objective 4)Utilize partners at the local, state, and national level to expand urban farms, community gardens, SNAP/DVCP programs, and direct marketing opportunities Outcome: SNAP/EBT and incentive programs are well advertised through continued efforts to reach more people.Outcome: ORIS made a partnership with the Xerces Society to help create beneficial insect habitats on the farm.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences reached by this project's efforts included limited resource/socially disadvantaged refugee farmers representing Somali Bantu, Congolese, Burundi and Bhutanese ethnic groups; low-income/economically disadvantaged consumers purchasing food with SNAP/EBT (food stamp) benefits; low-income seniors; teen-aged youth interns; and urban community gardeners. Changes/Problems: ORIS held a quarterly meeting with the Somali Bantu Community Organization of Massachusetts to review CFP activities, and work plan. The Project Director held a follow up meeting with SBCO-MA to share farmer training materials and best practices. However, during the summer 2015 there were gaps in communication and the Executive Director of SBCO-MA would not respond to repeated emails or phone calls from ORIS' Executive Director. It is uncertain which deliverables were achieved as outlined in the sub-award of the Community Food Project. If satisfactory progress has been made, it should be documented, and communication should be streamlined. If project deliverables were unmet, ORIS will consider which actions to take regarding SBCO's subaward for FY 2016, and communicate this with the director of SBCO-MA and the Community Food Project. Development of infrastructure in Dunbarton for year round post-harvest facilities and storage of crops was delayed due to understaffing and transitions in staffing. ORIS' former Farm Manager resigned in January. The new Farm Manager noted there were several activities on the incubator farm site that required immediate attention, and waylaid development of infrastructure for post-harvest and handling. The completion of the infrastructure construction is scheduled to be completed in Year 2 of the project. Refugee farmers and community gardeners were able to access land at property in Bedford independent of ORIS in 2015. ORIS was able to help start a new community garden in Concord for seven Burundi and Congolese families who had asked for support from ORIS outreach staff in accessing farmland. All seven reported increased access to fresh food and that they were giving food to their friends and neighbors, most of whom were also resettled refugees living in Concord. While the Manchester Farmers Market has significantly high sales via SNAP/EBT and the Granite State Market Match, these program operations have still been primarily carried out by ORIS's NASAP Training/Market Coordinator. The Manchester Farmers Market did not assume the role agreed to under this grant proposal, which included 200 hours of promotion and outreach related to SNAP/GSMM at the market, as well as to contribute 2 hours of match each week for the market manager to coordinate SNAP/GSMM activities at the market. ORIS staff continue to coordinate SNAP/GSMM activities at the market and assume primary responsibility for promotion of SNAP/GSMM in the community. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? ORIS's NASAP Training/Market Coordinator offered beginner farmer workshop trainings to refugee farmers in Manchester and Concord. The topics included a New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP) Orientation, Introduction to Direct Marketing, Farmers Markets and SNAP/EBT Vendors, CSA and Senior Nutrition Programs, and Wholesale. ORIS's Farm Manager offered workshops on Production Calendars, Integrated Pest Management, and Seeds. ORIS's NASAP Training/Market Coordinator offered one-on-one technical assistance to refugee farmers with filling out farmers' market applications and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program application, planning for CSA programs, coordinating SFMNP deliveries, and SNAP/EBT and Granite State Market Match programs at farmers markets. Staff providing TA aimed to do such in a way that would lead to increased self-sufficiency in the future rather than dependency. ORIS's Youth Program Coordinator coordinated an internship program for teen-aged youth with hands-on experiential learning as well as classroom based curriculum. The curriculums that were implemented include Integrated Pest Management, Soil Health, Soil Nutrients & Densities, Workplace Safety, Climate Change, Work Environments, Meaningful Work, Food Safety, CSA Processes, Gleaning, Eating & Cooking Nutritious Meals, Summer Meals Programs, SNAP Management, Farmers Market Management, and Sales & Marketing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? A refugee farmer and and refugee youth were invited to be NH delegates and attended the New England Food Summit this year in Massachusetts, representing the New American Farmers and the Farm & Food Leaders Youth Program. ORIS's NASAP Market/Training Coordinator is a member of the NH Food Alliance's "NH Food Strategy Team" and attends these regular meetings, representing and advocating for the diverse voices in NH agriculture and unique needs of refugee and immigrant farmers as well as socially/economically disadvantaged consumers in the state-wide initiative. ORIS's NASAP Market/Training Coordinator attended the annual CFP Project Directors' meeting in Washington D.C. ORIS posts project updates, events, and notable happenings on numerous social media avenues, including facebook, twitter, instagram, our blog, website, and email newsletters. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Refugee community gardeners in Concord, NH will undergo the complete market-based trainings this winter. Specific needs identified to meet these gardeners' self-expressed goals include how to sell at farmers' markets, English classes focusing on vegetable names and common phrases used at markets, how to make change at a market, and SNAP/EBT and Granite State Market Match Programs. These workshops will be held at an accessible location in Concord as most of these gardeners identify transportation as a key challenge; outreach to church classrooms, community centers, or other locations near the housing complexes they live in will begin promptly. One of our SNAP/EBT farm stands will be opened in the MorningStar Housing Complex where many new American and other low-income consumers live, doubling as a key hands-on training site and potential CSA pick-up site. In addition, ORIS will allocate a certain number of CSA shares and SFMNP bundles to an incubator CSA and SFMNP, which these gardeners will have the opportunity to participate in collectively. When there are gaps in production, ORIS will buy in from the advanced farmers who now successfully grow/harvest/deliver the majority of shares almost entirely independently. This expanded training, TA, and incubator markets will more adequately support beginner gardeners/farmers in addition to the more advanced farmers' businesses. In order to finish building the year-round post-harvest wash station facility and cold storage unit, ORIS will leverage the capacities and expertise of the advanced farmers in Dunbarton and utilize their assistance. For instance, they have experience and training in building their hoop houses, which is a similar design to the post-harvest facility. ORIS staff will continue outreach to potential new CSA members, including large-volume workplace CSAs at Southern New Hampshire University, Dartmouth Hitchcock hospitals in Manchester and Nashua, Catholic Medical Center, University of New Hampshire-Manchester, and other sites with healthy workplace programs. ORIS will also include the more advanced refugee farmers in these outreach efforts as a training opportunity of how to promote their own businesses and become increasingly self-sufficient and sustainable. While ORIS met the targeted number of SNAP/EBT accessible farm stands and markets, some of the sites-- Manchester Community Health Center and JFK Coliseum-- had low volumes of sales and customers weekly, and their locations/days/times need to be reconsidered. ORIS staff will conduct market research and meet with the refugee producers this fall and winter to identify locations and neighborhoods of improved sites. Many of the customers are resettled refugees seeking culturally appropriate foods, and the refugee farmers have local knowledge and insight into where more lucrative sites would be. ORIS's Executive Director, a respected member of the Somali Bantu community, along with NASAP Market/Training Coordinator and Outreach Workers will offer a workshop to the community at large to dispel some of the skepticism among new American consumers that the Granite State Market Match program at the SNAP/EBT accessible farm stands is an acceptable and legitimate use of their benefits. While 300+ pounds of produce were donated, this was coordinated by ORIS and the youth internship program. ORIS will offer a training workshop to the refugee farmers about how to go about gleaning and donating food to the NH Food Bank so they can do such independently when they have an excess of food, leading to increased civic engagement. This past year there was more demand for land access among committed refugee producers in the program due to 1) new farmers entering the program and 2) continuing farmers requiring more land to meet their business and marketing goals and production needs. Therefore, the youth program demonstration garden was allocated to a refugee farmer and youth learned about production in other ways. This upcoming year, as land is managed and distributed differently among program participants, the youth demonstration garden will be reestablished in Dunbarton in order to meet the goal of providing the opportunity to take home culturally appropriate and healthy foods. ORIS will conduct outreach and market research to identify viable CSA pick up sites in extended seasons of April-May and Nov-Dec. In addition, ORIS farmers and staff will make a winter plan to ensure continued access to the hoop houses even through heavy snowfalls, such as hiring a local resident to plow. ORIS will conduct outreach to area hospitals to explore options of developing a partnership in offering another fruit and vegetable prescription program, a partnership with CMC in 2014 that led to increased sales for refugee farmers and season extension and increased consumption of fresh, local produce among the project's recipients. ORIS's Executive Director will investigate the status of SBCO-MA involvement in the CFP. ORIS staff will reevaluate our partnership with the Manchester Farmers Market. We will consider using the CFP subgrantee funds allocated to a Manchester Farmers Market Manager to a Market Manager at a newly established farmers market in Manchester or the Salem NH Farmers Market.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
ORIS and its partners made measurable progress in efforts to increase the food security of low-income families by developing comprehensive strategies that promote the local production of healthy, culturally appropriate foods. Refugee farmers are an asset in that they have invaluable agricultural experiences and skills, and providing accessible, affordable, culturally appropriate foods not only assist with integration into a community, but makes them integral to that community's food security. However, refugee farmers face gaps in obtaining the necessary resources, training and technical assistance to access markets and fully meet their aspirations. At the same time, there is a need for affordable access to culturally appropriate foods in the communities this project serves, and outreach and education of where to purchase them. Teenaged youth seek income, job training, and agricultural education to become the next generation of leaders in their communities. Together, there is an opportunity for refugee farmers to positively impact low-income consumers' quality of life, while mutually benefitting by the increased income via sales to these households. ORIS provided a variety of training and TA to 31 refugee producers and coordinated an internship program that provided opportunities to 8 youth interns. ORIS also assisted with building mutually beneficial relationships with refugee farmers and low-income consumers, apparent by the 130+ SNAP households participating in SNAP programs at CSA and farmers' markets, and comprising $24,157.50 in sales between SNAP and the Granite State Market Match. New American farmers and gardeners are increasing food security and access to culturally appropriate foods for their families, as well as historically marginalized community members at large. These new Americans' local farms are becoming more viable through the significant sales to low-income households, contributing to the development of a stronger and more sustainable local food system that supports improved public health and equity for its stakeholders. Outcomes for Objective 1 *coordinated trainings for 20 farmers in Manchester and Concord to learn about CSA, farmers markets, SNAP/EBT vendors, and Senior nutrition programs *provided TA to 9 farmers with farmers' market applications and the Senior nutrition program applications *provided TA to 10 farmers participating at SNAP accessible farmers markets/farm stands *coordinated with Senior nutrition programs to identify opportunities for Fresh Start Farms *ORIS Farm Manager began development of infrastructure of year round post-harvest facilities in Dunbarton *coordinated trainings on hoop house production, crop storage and season extension techniques Outcomes for Objective 2 *improved on existing and established new CSA pick up sites in low-income neighborhoods in Manchester, *conducted outreach for Fresh Start Farms June-October CSA program, and tracked customer enrollment, registration, and payment. 98 Customers enrolled June-Oct 2015 *coordinated with interns to conduct outreach and promotion for CSA programs *Coordinate DVCP (now branded Granite State Market Match) incentive programs for Fresh Start Farms CSA customers paying via SNAP. 11 CSA customers enrolled June-Oct 2015 *provided TA for farmers to plan production for CSA programs *coordinated with farmers re: CSA, communicated customer names and share sizes, and monitored quality *delivered 98 CSA shares weekly *coordinated CSA payment to farmers, administered accounting systems, and submitted farmers' invoices *Staff and farmers evaluated financial benefits of CSA programs *coordinated workshop on senior nutrition program in NH, including TA with application form *provided TA to farmers participating as senior nutrition program vendors, scheduled delivery dates, coordinated harvest, bundle, delivery and invoice. 337 bundles were delivered to Manchester and Concord *advocated for the state of NH to expand the WIC vendor program to include farmers at the NH Food Strategy meetings *provided training and TA to farmers and farmers markets re. SNAP/EBT And GSMM * improved on and established farmers' markets in low-income neighborhoods *ORIS coordinated SNAP program at 6 market sites- MCHC, Kalivas Park, Lafayette Park, Manchester Farmers Market, Salem NH Farmers Market- and distributed tokens. 130 households were reached *ORIS and the NH Food Bank conducted outreach and distributed educational materials to customers re. SNAP programs at farmers markets *Conducted outreach for SNAP accessible farm stands via the Manchester Community Schools Project *ORIS acted as the regional lead for the GSMM and conducted outreach to farmers and farmers markets in greater Manchester *coordinated SNAP programs at the Manchester Farmers Market *facilitated SNAP access for the Common Earth Farms stand in Kalivas Park in Manchester *facilitated SNAP access for 4 Fresh Start Farms farm stands in greater Manchester *coordinated SNAP payments to farmers, administered accounting systems, and submitted farmers' invoices *Common Earth Farms coordinated sales of seedlings to low-income residents and community gardeners at SNAP/EBT accessible sites *ORIS and refugee farmers evaluated financial benefits to farmers of participation in SNAP/EBT and GSMM vendor programs *facilitated SNAP access for Fresh Start FArms CSA and facilitated SNAP transactions weekly *coordinated TA for crop planning, seed order and marketing of extended season *Farmers produced onions, winter squash, root vegetables and other storage crops to distribute Nov-Dec *monitored quality and condition of crops in storage *coordinated packing and delivery of new Nov-Dec CSA shares Outcomes for Objective 3: *Youth Program Coordinator drafted job descriptions, roles, responsibilities and learning objectives *Developed and/or revised lesson plans for interns to learn about farming, marketing, and food justice; invited leaders/ speakers *Conducted outreach to teen-aged youth in Manchester re: ORIS's Farm and Food Leaders program (ORIS, NHJAG, My Turn, Inc.) *Collected and reviewed applications *Interviewed and selected interns *Trained interns on farm production; supplies materials, seeds, seedlings, shovels, etc. for workdays *Trained interns on direct marketing; utilized interns to conduct market outreach *Coordinated with interns to evaluate farmers markets, SNAP/EBT, and CSA programs; drafted survey tools; implemented tools at market *Supervised interns; set goals and provided individualized feedback on performance Outcomes for Objective 4 *Increased food security among refugee farmers' and gardeners' families * Increased civic engagement and improved quality of life for stakeholders *ORIS identified sites in and around the cities of Manchester where refugee families can have community gardens and/or urban farms *ORIS, interns, farmers and NH Food Bank coordinated distribution of excess food to pantries *coordinated interns to volunteer 1-2 days at the NH Food Bank *NH Food Bank and Wholesome Wave attended national grantee meeting to share best practices for GSMM and distributed funds for GSMM regional leads in the state of NH. *ORIS and the NH Food Bank attended quarterly meetings of regional lead agencies of SNAP/GSMM programs in NH *coordinated branding, outreach, fundraising, and advocacy for SNAP/GSMM programs at the state level * attended annual CFP grantee meeting *registered and tracked community gardeners' use of space on Lewis Farm in Concord, NH *conducted outreach and referred refugee clients to community garden opportunities in Concord * coordinated interns to volunteer with Families in Transition to plan for an urban community garden in Manchester *coordinated interns to provide input to Manchester Parks and Recreation in regards to the need for more community gardens in public parks *participated in NH Food Strategy Network meetings
Publications
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